


Hamunaptra

by lachatblanche



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - The Mummy Fusion, M/M, One Shot, Period-Typical Homophobia, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 04:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9640745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lachatblanche/pseuds/lachatblanche
Summary: Charles and his sister Raven try to enlist the aid of a prison convict, Logan Howlett, in order to find the lost city of Hamunaptra.A 'The Mummy' AU.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Mnemo_ink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mnemo_ink/pseuds/Mnemo_ink) in the [xmenrarepairs17](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/xmenrarepairs17) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
>  
> 
> The Mummy AU, with En Sabah Nur's as a mix between Imhotep/The Pharaoh, Charles as both the ancient lover and the librarian, Raven as his sibling and Logan as Rick.  
> Charles Xavier, a brilliant telepath, is living in Cairo. His sister brings him what could be the key to finding the mythical city of Apocalypse, at least if they can get a man called Logan’s help.  
> Little does he knows he is actually the reincarnation of En Sabah Nur's lover or that he once was the one who planned En Sabah Nur's sleep when he became too tyrannical.  
> Or that En Sabah Nur's wants nothing more than to give him Logan's power so that they can rule the world together forever...
> 
> (in this En Sabah Nur can transfer/absorb power instead of possessing bodies)

_**Find me, beloved.** _

_I will find you._

_**Come to me.** _

_I will come._

*****

‘That’s him?’

Charles was looking sceptically at the hairy, unwashed man who was sat behind the bars of the outdoor prison, glaring at them. He then turned to his sister, Raven – who was currently in the form of a stern-faced senior gentleman – and raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Are you quite sure that he’s the one?’ he asked, sounding extremely doubtful. He had been expecting someone slightly more … civilised in appearance. ‘ _Really_ sure?’

Raven rolled her eyes, not caring for a moment that it was a very odd manoeuvre on the face of the distinguished gentleman whose form she was wearing. ‘Of course I’m sure, Charles,’ she said with a huff, folding her arms over her chest petulantly. ‘I think I’d remember the face of the guy who I stole from. Especially since I actually had to _wear_ his face to do the actual stealing.’

Charles blinked, wrong-footed by the offended expression she was wearing. After a moment, he sighed. ‘I don’t know where I went wrong in raising you,’ he said sadly, before sensibly deciding that his sister’s thieving was a matter for another day, and turning back to the prisoner. Casually, he raised his fingers to his temple and concentrated. He frowned. ‘I can’t read him,’ he said accusingly.

Raven shrugged. ‘Well that’s hardly _my_ fault,’ she said, tossing her head. She paused, however, considering. ‘What do you think that means?’

Charles shook his head. ‘I haven’t the foggiest,’ he said. He gazed apprehensively at the filthy figure before him. ‘What do you think he’s in for?’

Raven studied the man in front of her thoughtfully. ‘Worst case?’ She shrugged. ‘He’s in there for mass murder. Best case?’ Her expression turned sly as she glanced at her brother. ‘He’s in there for buggery.’

Charles determinedly did not allow himself to flush. ‘Either way, it’s a hanging offence,’ he murmured, not meeting her eyes. He glanced at the prisoner again and sighed. ‘In any case, I suppose there’s no avoiding this,’ he said reluctantly. ‘Regardless of what he’s done, we need him if we ever want to find the lost city.’

‘That’s the spirit,’ Raven said brightly. ‘Now you get over there and talk to him, and I’ll stay right back here where it’s nice and safe.’

Charles gave her a disgruntled look. Then he straightened his spine and took a deep breath. ‘Hamunaptra,’ he murmured to himself, repeating the mantra that had stirred him this far, away from the comfortable and familiar library at Cairo. ‘Remember Hamunaptra. That’s why we’re here. Show some spine, Charles.’

Thus resolved, and ignoring the loud scoff that Raven let out behind him, Charles lifted his chin and marched forward towards the prisoner.

‘Mr Howlett?’ he called, sounding more confident than he felt. ‘Could I have a minute of your time, please?’

The prisoner, Logan Howlett, stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, and with several degrees of disdain, a thick hairy eyebrow rose upwards on his face. ‘We both know that I ain’t exactly busy right now, bub,’ he drawled, his eyes sharp and humourless. After a pause he added, ‘You can have _two_.’

Charles blinked and then threw a hesitant glance over his shoulder towards Raven. Raven just smiled encouragingly and gave him a thumbs up. He sighed. Then he turned back to face the prisoner.

‘Mr Howlett,’ he began again, trying his best to seem as friendly and non-threatening as possible. ‘It has come to my attention that you are not unfamiliar with this part of the country – which is to say, you have travelled much within the desert?’

Howlett was regarding him with a flat look. ‘Uh huh,’ he said dryly. ‘And what gave you that impression?’

Charles bit his lip but nevertheless forged on, trying a different tack. ‘Do you by any chance have any interest in antiquities?’ he asked, trying to make the question sound natural instead of completely bizarre. From the look on Howlett’s face, however, it seemed that he hadn’t quite succeeded.

‘Antiquities,’ the man repeated, staring at Charles. ‘As in old things.’ At Charles’s nod, he snorted. ‘The oldest thing I’m interested in is a 100-year old malt whisky, but somehow I don’t think that you’re talking about that.’

‘Well – er – no,’ Charles admitted. ‘What I am talking about is – oh let me just show you.’ And with that, he reached into his pocket and drew out the small metallic box that Raven had given to him less than a week ago.

Logan immediately sat up. ‘That’s mine,’ he growled. He looked up at Charles and glared. ‘Where did you get that?’ he barked. 

Raven surreptitiously took a step back and turned her face away, never mind that the guise she wore was completely different from the one that she had used to purloin the artefact from the currently imprisoned Mr Howlett.

Unfortunately, the movement – subtle as it was – nevertheless caught Logan’s attention, and he immediately swung his gaze over to her. He watched her for a moment, looking suspicious, and then – inexplicably – took a deep, deliberate sniff and frowned. ‘Do I know you?’ he demanded, narrowing his eyes at Raven distrustfully.

Raven looked slightly alarmed by the question but she managed to keep her cool. ‘I think not,’ she said stiffly. ‘I am a gentleman, sir. I do not make it a habit of associating with criminals.’

‘Yeah?’ Logan growled. ‘Well I wasn’t always a criminal. And something tells me that _you_ weren’t always a gentleman.’ His eyes then swung back to Charles, who startled slightly. ‘You though …’ Logan let out a huff. ‘Yeah, you’re what you say you are.’ He took a deep sniff that made Charles feel oddly embarrassed. ‘Got the stench of old books all over. Probably some sort of librarian.’

Charles sputtered even as Raven let out a snort of laughter. ‘An _academic_ ,’ he protested plaintively. ‘I’m not actually – I _do_ help out in the library, but I’m—’ He deflated when he realised that no one was paying attention and he sighed. ‘Never mind,’ he said reluctantly. ‘The point is – the point is, Mr Howlett, we found something inside the box.’ He leaned forward eagerly, so that his face almost brushed against the bars of the prison. ‘We found – we found a _map_.’

‘A map,’ Howlett repeated, sounding supremely unimpressed. 

‘ _Yes_ ,’ Charles said, seeming to completely miss Logan’s lack of enthusiasm. ‘A map. A very _old_ map. Unfortunately for us, part of it was destroyed before we could study it properly, so that’s why we are here – to find out where the box came from, where you found it, so that we will be able to retrace its steps.’

‘Uh huh.’ Logan looked unconvinced. ‘So you found a random box with a random map – half of which is now gone – and you thought that it would be a good idea to follow it all the way across the desert with a convict in tow. Huh. Great plan you got there, Librarian.’

Charles ignored the jibe. ‘That’s the thing, though,’ he said excitedly, pressing closer. ‘It’s _not_ a random map – it’s not random at all! You will never guess, Mr Howlett, but the map appears to lead us somewhere _incredible_ , somewhere that you wouldn’t believe, somewhere that—’

‘Don’t tell me,’ Logan interrupted, rolling his eyes. ‘It leads to Hamunaptra.’

Charles gaped. ‘How – how did you know that?’ he asked, stammering over his words.

Logan snorted, shaking his head. ‘Typical,’ he grumbled. ‘It figures that something I found all the way out in that hellhole would have a map leading all the way _back_ there.’

Charles stared. ‘Wait – you’ve actually _been_ there?’ he asked, stunned. ‘You’ve _been_ to Hamunaptra?’

‘Swallowed a whole lot of sand there, and all,’ Logan growled. ‘Can’t say that I’m looking for a return trip, either.’

‘Oh, but you must,’ Charles protested, nearly pleading, his hands gripping onto the bars of the cells in supplication. ‘You have no idea what it means, Mr Howlett – we _must_ go there! For the sake of history, for the knowledge we’ll find there, for the _answers_ …’ 

‘So not for the treasure then?’ Logan asked dryly, one sceptical eyebrow very high on his forehead.

Charles paused, and then beamed. ‘Mr Howlett, you know your history,’ he said, pleased.

Logan snorted. ‘I know my _treasure_ , bub,’ he grunted. ‘And I know the sort of people it attracts. Which is why I need to ask the question—’ He looked up and met Charles’s eyes unflinchingly. ‘Why exactly do you want to go to Hamunaptra?’

Charles opened his mouth to answer, but Logan cut him off before he could start.

‘And don’t give me any of that shit about history and learning, nobody gives a damn about that.’

Charles’s cheeks reddened with indignation, but a loud clearing of the throat from Raven made him settle down again. ‘There’s – there’s a book,’ he said reluctantly. ‘It’s called the Book of Amun-Ra—’

‘The _Golden_ Book,’ Raven piped up eagerly, turning to blink innocently at Charles when he looked at her.

‘Well – yes,’ Charles admitted. ‘But that’s hardly the point. You see, it’s thought to contain the most secret and precious of Egyptian spells and incantations … the gold is the least of it, I assure you, the knowledge from one page alone makes the book priceless beyond belief.’ He looked at Logan imploringly. ‘Most scholars believe that the Book is lost to the ages, but I—’ he glanced around warily as if he thought a rival scholar was in the vicinity, trying to steal his theories. Behind him, Raven let out a very loud and very rude snort. ‘ _I_ think that the Book is yet to be found … and that it can be found in _Hamunaptra_.’

He looked at Logan, as if expecting him to be taken aback by this information.

Logan just stared at him, looking bemused. Then he rolled his eyes and snorted. ‘A book, huh?’ he said, sounding amused. ‘What did I tell you? A librarian.’

Charles glared at him. ‘Well that’s what I want,’ he said haughtily, his cheeks growing pink. ‘That’s why I want to go there. To find the book. To prove it exists, just like Hamunaptra, as I have been saying all along.’

Howlett looked thoughtful. He eyed Charles closely for a moment. ‘Yeah, maybe that’s it,’ he said after a minute, scratching his chin lazily. ‘But somehow I don’t think that’s all there is to it.’ He then focused his suddenly sharp gaze on Charles. ‘Tell me why you want to go to Hamunaptra,’ he said again. ‘The _real_ reason this time, bub.’

Charles bit his lip. He glanced briefly at Raven, who looked confused, and then quickly turned away, his heart beating fast. He hadn’t even told his sister about this – about the _other_ reason why he wanted to go to Hamunaptra, and how the universe had seemed to suddenly click into place when Raven had produced the box that had revealed the hidden map, as if it had been his destiny to go there all along. If he hadn’t told Raven, then what reason did he have to tell his deepest secrets to a scruffy, smelly stranger?

_**Look for me, beloved. Find me.** _

Charles shivered and turned to look at the prisoner. Howlett raised a thick, hairy eyebrow, the very picture of measured patience.

Charles sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. ‘I don’t just want to go to Hamunaptra,’ he said reluctantly. ‘I – I _need_ to go there. I don’t know why, I don’t know _how_ , but I feel … I feel as if I am being _called_ there. As if by going there I’ll—’ he hesitated before forging on. ‘As if by going there I’ll find my destiny,’ he finished, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. ‘I can’t explain it, but that’s what I feel.’

Howlett didn’t say anything for a moment. ‘Huh,’ he said after a pause. ‘Well, I guess it’s not _the_ stupidest thing I ever heard.’

Charles bit his tongue to keep from saying anything rude. ‘It’s the truth,’ he said stiffly. ‘More than that I can’t say.’

‘Hmm.’ Logan watched him for a moment. Then he shrugged. ‘Fine,’ he said.

Charles’s eyes flew to his. ‘Fine?’ he asked sharply. ‘What does that mean?’

Logan sighed. ‘It means I’ll take you to your damn Hamunaptra,’ he said in a longsuffering tone.

Charles and Raven looked towards each other in delight.

‘… But only on a couple o’ conditions.’

Charles slowly turned his gaze back to Logan, looking cautious. ‘We can pay you, of course,’ he said when Logan didn’t continue. ‘Handsomely. And the fact that we’ll be saving you from this jail cell and – consequently – _certain death_ ought to merit us a bit of good will, I should think.’

Logan chuckled at that. ‘Think it’s certain, do you?’ His teeth were bared in a grin, but the look in his eyes was humourless. ‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that.’

‘No?’ Raven stepped forward, scrutinising him. ‘You mean you’re not headed for the gallows, then?’

‘Oh no, they mean to hang me,’ Logan admitted easily. He shrugged. ‘Whether they succeed or not … that’s the question.’

‘What did you _do_ , exactly?’ Charles asked, unable to hide his curiosity any longer.

‘I killed a man,’ Logan said simply. Charles winced. ‘He was trying to kill me first, though, so in my book that’s self-defence. Not that these guys appreciate that.’ He turned and glared at the prison guards standing a few yards away. One of them caught his gaze and turned and spat on the floor in response. Logan’s eyes hardened.

‘When do you plan on getting me out?’ he demanded abruptly, looking at Charles, his gaze suddenly fierce.

Charles blinked at the sudden question. ‘Oh.’ He paused, thinking quickly. ‘Well it really all depends on how much we money we bargain for your release. I have a little on me right now, but I don’t think that will be enough to buy a man’s life … I suppose it might take a few days, or perhaps a week—’

‘No.’ Logan’s voice was sharp. ‘If this is happening then it has to happen now. Today.’

‘Today?’ Charles repeated, dismayed. ‘Mr Howlett, I’m not sure that’s possible.’

‘I’m sure you’ll find a way,’ Logan said dismissively.

‘You’ve been in here for almost a month,’ Raven said with a huff, placing her hands on her masculine, suit-clad hips. ‘I think you’ll survive another couple of nights.’

‘Oh you think that, do you?’ Logan growled, glaring at her. He shook his head and then turned back to Charles. ‘Look here, bub,’ he said, smiling thinly. ‘I’m in a prison cell surrounded by a bunch of guards who don’t like foreigners doing in one of their own, and a whole damn prison full of convicted murderers who like that even less. Now, I’ve been keeping my head down as best I can, but after today with the two of you … well, I know a few people won’t be too happy about the thought of me getting out. Come tonight, there’s gonna be trouble.’ His eyes suddenly narrowed. ‘And believe me when I tell you that _I’m_ not going to be the one who’ll be going down at the end of it.’

Charles and Raven exchanged a look. Raven shrugged and shook her head.

Charles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Okay,’ he said at last. ‘I understand your position, Mr Howlett, and I agree that it’s a very serious one. I _will_ get you out of here tomorrow, I _promise_ you that, but I am afraid that there is simply no way that I will be able to raise the money tonight. I need you to keep your head down and be safe for one more night – just _one_. Can you do that for me? Please?’

Logan was quiet for a moment. ‘You want me to keep my head down?’ he repeated slowly. His voice was so low that Charles was forced to lean forwards. ‘To stay out of trouble … avoid attention. Is that it?’ 

‘Yes,’ Charles said, sounding relieved. ‘That’s it exac—’ His words were cut off by Logan suddenly snapping out with his arm, seizing Charles around the back of the head and jerking him forward into a—

A kiss.

Charles’s eyes – previously scrunched close in fear of violence – flew open in shock. Somewhere behind him he could vaguely hear Raven’s outraged shriek and a roar from the surrounding prisoners, but for the moment all he could process was the kiss – rough and wild and angry … and yet somehow still gentle and tender for all of its bruising force.

A second was all that Charles had to process it, however, for Logan abruptly reeled back, his teeth bared in a wild, humourless grin. ‘You want me to take you to Hamunaptra?’ he growled as the shouts rose in volume from around them, a dozen prison guards surging forwards in anger. ‘Then get me the _fuck_ out of here before these bastards _really_ see something they’re not ready for.’ And with that he snarled and turned and swung his fist into the jaw of the nearest prison guard.

‘Holy shit,’ Raven said faintly. She reached out and pulled Charles back to her side, watching the proceedings with wide eyes. ‘Looks like I was right about the buggery, then.’

But Charles wasn’t listening to her. He was instead watching Logan, wide-eyed, his eyes fixed on a spot on his arm where, moments before, a large bloody gash had marred the flesh. Now, however, there was nothing but new, perfect skin.

‘Raven,’ Charles whispered, reaching out to clutch her arm. ‘Raven – he’s like us! That’s why he’s so desperate to get out – he’s worried that he’s going to be exposed!’

‘Well, that and he’s in prison and sentenced to die,’ Raven added, but she had become watchful, her eyes following the moves of the guards as they dragged a violently-resisting Howlett closer towards the gallows in the middle of the square. Even as they watched, a snarling Logan turned to them and glared. ‘Get me the fuck out of here,’ he hissed, before turning and elbowing a guard in the gut. ‘Pay these fuckers and get me the hell out of here.’

Raven glanced at her brother. ‘How are we doing this?’ she asked in a low voice. She had braced herself, her knees bent, ready to leap into action should Charles give the say-so.

Charles considered for a second before making up his mind. ‘Well,’ he said slowly, casually looking around at the erupting violence even as he raised his fingers to his temples. ‘I was thinking about the non-violent approach.’

Raven looked at him. Then she relaxed.

Charles’s fingers touched his forehead. 

The entire prison courtyard froze. Every inmate inside every cell remained completely still. Nobody moved a muscle. It was as if time had frozen.

Only Logan, in the centre of the courtyard, was unaffected – physically, at least – by Charles’s power. 

Charles and Raven watched patiently as he staggered back, pushing away from the grappling hands of the prison guards. As they looked on, they saw Logan glance around in bemusement, clearly not understanding what was going on. His eyes went from the prison guards, to the prisoners frozen in the act of howling and jeering, and finally – _finally_ – his gaze fell on Charles and Raven, who was now in her resplendent natural blue form, grinning widely. Charles met Logan’s eyes, smiled and lowered his hand away from his head.

‘Well?’ he asked haughtily, raising one imperious eyebrow even as excitement rose in his chest. ‘Are you going to show us the way to Hamunaptra or not?’

And Logan, stunned and speechless and completely in awe, could only nod obediently. ‘Yes,’ he said, his voice hoarse, unable to take his eyes off of Charles. ‘Yes. I will take you. I will take you to Hamunaptra.’

Charles smiled, and closed his eyes.

Hundreds of miles away, in a lost city covered in sand, the earth began to shake.

 

_***** _

 

**_Come to me, beloved._ **

_I come._


End file.
